Puppy Love
by shmulia
Summary: Does it count as stealing if you don't know whether or not the dog which has turned up on your lawn already has an owner?


Mako couldn't deny the fact that the puppy which had appeared in his front garden was cute. It was small, fluffy, and the colour of freshly fallen snow; really, Mako thought to himself, if it wasn't peeing all over his lawn, he would probably be entranced by the sheer adorableness of it.

But it _was_ peeing on his lawn and, considering he had never seen the enthusiastically urinating bundle of fluff before, Mako wasn't completely sure what to do about it. He was really more of a cat person, and wasn't sure what the protocol was for a strange dog bouncing around your front lawn, peeing literally _everywhere_ – Mako said a silent prayer for his hydrangeas as he watched yellow liquid sprinkle over them – without a care in the world.

He didn't want to pick it up – better that the flowers got urine all over them than _him_ – but leaving it to its own devices looked like garden suicide. Mako knelt down on one of the few dry areas left, and reluctantly called out to it. Maybe he could reason with it.

"Here, pup pup pup!" Mako yelled. When it didn't respond, he tried a different approach.

"Hey! Stop peeing on my lawn!" He called to the dog, which raised its head at the sharp tone. Deciding that it was going to make a new friend, the ice-white puppy bounded towards Mako, tongue flopping out as it leapt at him.

Mako thanked his reflexes when he managed to catch the airborne dog, glad that it hadn't landed on his face. He knew what that dog had been doing, and wanted it far away from his hair. Holding it at arm's length, Mako glared at the tiny animal, which had finally stopped doing its business; a fact which Mako was grateful for.

"Okay, now that you're off my lawn, what are we going to do with you?" he asked the dog, whose tail wagged in response. Mako fought off a smile. He was determined not to be charmed by the ball of fluff in his hands. Even if it _was_ smiling at him adorably, it had spent the past five minutes ruining his garden. He would not be swayed. He would not be won over. He would not-

The puppy yipped at him, and Mako fell in love.

Drawing it closer to him, Mako cooed as the animal barked at him affectionately, curling into his lap as he stroked its head.

"Okay, I admit it. You're cute. Even if you are an asshole."

The dog licked Mako's cheek, and he wondered if it would be possible to adopt it. Did it count as theft if you didn't know whether or not a dog had an owner already? Sure, it had a collar, but it didn't have a tag. Besides, some dogs ran away and became homeless. Who was to say he wouldn't be _helping_ it by taking it in...?

As he contemplated the legalities of adopting the puppy (would it count as kidnapping? Mako wasn't sure), his dreams of a blissful, pee-filled future with the dog were shattered when a girl sprinted past his gate, paused, and turned back.

"Naga? _Naga!"_ the voice cried, leaning against the gate as she looked at the pair sitting on the floor. The puppy, which Mako realised must be the aforementioned Naga, responded immediately. Leaping out of Mako's lap, it bounded towards the figure which had appeared by his front gate. The girl jumped over said gate, running towards the dog before picking it up and twirling it around, holding it to her chest closely.

"Naga! I was so _worried_ about you! Are you okay?" The girl moved Naga slightly away from her, looking the dog over to check it wasn't hurt. After a quick analysis, she hugged Naga again, kissing the dog's head as she admonished it.

"You bad girl, you scared me half to death! Don't run away again, okay?" At this point the girl looked up to see Mako gazing at her, and smiled at him.

"Hi! I'm so sorry about Naga, she got away from me. Thanks for looking after her," she said brightly. Mako sat in stunned silence, staring at her.

She was _beautiful_.

Her dark skin had a sheen of sweat, probably a combination of the summer sun and the sprint for her dog. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail which swayed as she shook her head at the dog in her arms, and the blue tank top she was wearing matched her eyes perfectly.

Said blue eyes were staring at Mako in concern, and he realised he was quite literally gawking at the stranger.

"Thats, uh, okay," Mako said, all too aware of the blush rising in his cheeks. "It was no problem. She just kind of... turned up. Didn't require much looking after." He grinned at her, and the small bundle of fluff barked at him in what Mako hoped was affection.

"I think she likes you," Korra stated matter-of-factly as Naga flailed her paws towards the boy in question. Mako rubbed the back of his neck, grinning awkwardly.

"Well, the feeling's mutual. She's a sweet little thing."

Korra's smile widened. "Damn straight she is. I'm Korra, by the way." Shifting Naga into one arm, Korra extended a hand to Mako. He took it, expecting a handshake, and instead was pulled up from the ground. _Then_ Korra shook his hand.

She was strong, too. It was probably a good thing that he hadn't stolen her dog, Mako thought; with muscles like those, he probably wouldn't have stood a chance against her.

"Mako," he replied, letting his hand drop as Korra went to pull a leash out of the pocket of her shorts. Her nose crinkled slightly as she frowned, clipping the leash to Naga's collar before staring at Mako's face intently. He had a sudden urge to make sure his hair still looked like it had in the mirror not ten minutes ago...

"Mako. Mako... _oh!_ You're Bolin's brother!" Korra exclaimed, eyes lighting up as her scrutiny led to a decisive conclusion regarding Mako's identity.

Mako's eyebrows shot up.

"You know Bo?" he asked, rifling through his memory to see if his little brother had ever mentioned the girl standing next to him. His mind came up blank, but then again, until the younger boy had started dating Opal, he'd mentioned a lot of girls. "How?"

Korra, gently placing Naga on the ground next to her, looked up at Mako.

"We're both on the Republic City pro-boxing team. I only joined recently; I'm fairly new in town. Plus he's dating my friend Opal, so we're pretty well acquainted."

A vague recollection of Bolin mentioning a new member from his boxing group floated to the top of Mako's mind. A powerhouse of a girl, Bolin had described her as, who took no shit but was incredibly sweet. She'd already beaten Bolin three times in the ring, but had helped patch him up after every defeat.

...It was a _really_ good thing he hadn't stolen her dog.

"Yeah, I remember him mentioning you now. I hear you're a natural," he said. Korra grinned widely at him.

"Thanks! I've learned a lot from your brother though. He really helped me with my stance," she said.

"Yeah, Bo's good at-" a shrill ringtone interrupted Mako, and Korra pulled out her phone.

"Sorry about this," she said as she glanced at the screen. She sighed, and looked at Mako apologetically as she tucked it away.

"I'm so sorry Mako, I have to go. I'm running late for training, and Opal wants to know where I am."

Mako waved away the apology.

"That's okay," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Tell Opal I'm sorry for keeping you."

Korra grinned. "I doubt she'll be mad, she's been telling me to meet some new people." She winked at him. "She can't complain if I was taking her advice. Come on, Naga. It was nice to meet you, Mako!"

"It was nice to meet you, too!" Mako called to Korra's retreating back, watching as she pulled the small dog across the garden. It trotted next to her gleefully, only trying to urinate twice as they walked away.

They reached the entrance to the garden when Mako's words decided to fast-track his brain, and he was calling out to Korra before he even realised it.

"Korra!"

She turned, looking at him questioningly. He walked up the path, hoping that speed would mean his nerves wouldn't have time to let him know he was being an idiot.

"I was just thinking – you said you were new in town, and if you ever wanted someone to show you around – I mean, I'm sure Opal has given you the tour already, but if you wanted to, you know, hang out sometime, that would be cool. I know a great noodle place, Narook's, it's really... cool..." His brain had caught up to his words, and Mako was ready to kick himself by the time he shut up. He was scratching the back of his neck, waiting for the inevitable rejection, when Korra's lips quirked upwards.

"That'd be really nice, Mako," she replied. Mako blinked.

"It would?" He cleared his throat. "I mean, it would. Yes. Great."

Korra raised an eyebrow, chuckling slightly at the furiously-blushing boy.

"I'll get your number off Bolin at training later, if that's okay?" Mako nodded, still surprised at the fact she wasn't looking at him as if he were insane after his babbling.

She smiled. "Fantastic! I'll call you, okay?"

Mako could only nod.

"Later then, Mako," Korra said, waving as she turned away, Naga bounding in front of her. "I'm looking forward to noodles!" she called over her shoulder as she turned the corner of the street.

Mako went back towards his house, a wide grin stretching across his face. He would probably have to dig up his garden entirely to save the plants, but apart from _that,_ it was a pretty good day.

Besides, the garden could wait; he had to see when he could make a reservation.


End file.
